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vegetables and flowers in Kenya. Hot, dry, sunny days and peak production destined for consumers shivering in the European winter and longing for a taste African sunshine. But in Kenya, as elsewhere, the weather is not behaving as it should. Months of rain, often torrential, is washing away hopes of a good harvest. Flowers are reluctant to flower. And perhaps worst hit are growers of peas and French beans.

In the whole of my life and I ’“m talking about somebody who is over 60 years old. I ’ve not experienced a season like thisT. he whole of that period, I ’ve not seen rains like this in January in Kenya”. James Masengi, chairman of the Fresh Produce Exporters’ Association of Kenya, who speaks not only for his members but out of personal and bitter experience.

Crops are flooded. We are finding it even difficult to meet the “

requirement of our consumers becauscerops have been destroye”d. Are you going to be able to keep your business orders up to date? Are you going to complete your export orders?

Yes we are struggling very much to keep the export orders. In some places, we are not able to supply them 100 percent, but we are supplying something. James Masengi.

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B

Very little happiness

growth / production down 30%

Some / deficiency

If sunshine in the next month /

catch up a lot

No / sales on contract price disease pressure / slows down

Maize

Threat of disease

Pick & transport / nightmare /

roads / impossible conditions 听力原文：

And for growers of roses, the flower associatedwith love and romance, there’s very little happiness in the air. Ian Maroe is managing director of CN Roses Limited, one of Kenya’s leading rose exporters.

Cold, cloudy, wet weather increase disease pressure and slows “

down growth. So our production is probably down a six-month figure, is down 30%.”

Are you disappointing your customers?

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Some. We try to keep the more important ones contented, but some “

are definitely disappointed. Definitely. Yeah.”

Do you think you’ll be able to pick up over the course of the season?

“The bad weather as such will continue for a depressinglylong time according to the forecast. But if we get sunshine in the next month or so, we’ll be able to catch up quite a lo”t.

Are you making up the short fall in production by an increase in price?

Uh, no, because a lot of our sales are on the contract pri”“ce. Ian Morae.

And I should add that even more of Kenya ’s crops are in trouble. Maize has suffered badly. Coffee isunder constant threat of disease. And although tea is growing well,getting it picked and transported is a nightmare on roads that become all but impossible in these conditions. But the greatest fear is that the rain could be followed by the opposite: drought.

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